The Farahi School and Reformist Islam

Examining the emergence and development of the Farāhī school of thought and its methodology, this book explores the four case studies of stoning, apostasy, hijab, and the return of Jesus.

It demonstrates the reforming Farāhī approach and divergence from traditional Islamic thought, tracing Farāhī scholarship through the years, from Hamiduddin Farahi to Amin Ahsan Islahi and Javed Ahmad Ghamidi. Through the case studies the author analyses Farāhī approach to the Qur’an, the Sunnah, and religion. For each case study, he looks at contested areas and critically reviews traditional approaches, evaluating various sources, including the Qur’an, Tafsīrs from both Sunni and Shia scholars, Ḥadīths, and where applies Fiqh, before moving on to discussing the Farāhī approach, including interviews with Javed Ahmad Ghamidi, the present academic leader of the approach. Each case study ends with comparative analysis, leading to extracting the methodological features of the Farāhī school of thought at the end of the book. The book closes with a critical discussion of the methodology of the Farāhī school of thought and a summary.

The Farahi School and Reformist Islam is the first academic work to go beyond the Farāhī school’s theory of Qur’anic coherence, aiming to derive its methodological features through original analysis and a case study approach. It will appeal to advanced students and scholars of Islam, particularly those interested in Qur’anic exegesis and Islamic jurisprudence. It will be invaluable for those exploring new or reformist methodologies in deriving rules and concepts from the text, especially the approach of the Farāhī school of thought. It will also be of considerable interest to general readers seeking insight into the background and evolving perspectives on any of the case study subjects addressed in the book.